Good Lord, but it's been a while since I've written. I actually have a few postings in the works that should come before these next, but c'est la vie. Ryan and I are officially on our tour of the Californian coast and I have decided to chronicle our journey each day. Since this is the longest vacation either of us have ever been on, I already know that 
by the end of it we will probably look at each other and wonder, "what exactly did we do with all of that time?" So, lengthy or not, take it or leave it, this is our chronicle of our journey. I will be trying to post them by day, so say a prayer that I can keep up...I'm already behind ;-)
by the end of it we will probably look at each other and wonder, "what exactly did we do with all of that time?" So, lengthy or not, take it or leave it, this is our chronicle of our journey. I will be trying to post them by day, so say a prayer that I can keep up...I'm already behind ;-)Friday, February 26th
Today was our first full day in San Francisco! It’s been quite a day and we actually were able to fit in a lot more than I thought we would. We got here a little later than I had hoped, around 4 this morning, but we got here safely nonetheless. Driving into the city at that time was so odd – almost surreal. It was kind of like showing up to a party before the host got home from the grocery store. The streets were so empty and quiet, there were no trolley cars running, and there was no one else driving around but us. We checked in without much incident and came up to our room in the Villa Florence. We were relieved and pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the hotel as well as the friendliness of the staff. We came upstairs and went straight to sleep, as the drive left us with an air of exhaustion from my full day of work and trip prep as well as Ryan’s 24 hour duty and consequential lack of sleep.
We met Suz for breakfast at 9:30 at Sears’, which was brilliant. Such a great breakfast spot and somewhere I definitely wanted to hit while we were in town. I emailed Katie for some other must see spots, but still have yet to hear from her. After breakfast, we hopped on our first Trolley up to Suz and Bernie’s hotel, The Fairmont. Suz bought us day passes, I think because she felt bad that she had led us to believe it was free before we decided to hop on. It was pretty neat to ride on the cable car – there wasn’t enough room to sit, so we even had to stand and hang on. We adjusted pretty quickly, especially since we were on the inside edge and almost clipped ourselves with a car on the other side of the yellow line. The Fairmont was impressive, but nothing unlike what I expected. Truthfully, The Biltmore in LA was more impressive aesthetically. It was still a neat place to see and apparently Bill Clinton was there only 12 hours or so before we came to inspect it. Bernie wasn’t around, but we were able to see their room which had a great view of the city.
Ryan and I came back to the room after we left Suz to her wine group. It was getting windier and greyer by the minute and I was definitely feeling the lack of sleep setting in. I couldn’t wait to lie down, read some Wicked, and maybe catch a few zzz’s before we proceeded with the rest of our day. We did just that. The TV was fixed while we were at breakfast, but we dozed off within a few minutes. It wasn’t even noon yet, so I didn’t feel bad about wasting away some of the dreariness in bed. We got up while it was still raining and decided to hit up Chinatown for lunch and sightseeing. We walked all the way down there – it was chilly and still spitting rain, but a nice walk nonetheless. The sights were incredible – so many different shops all crammed together in a tight little space. We had a destination for lunch in mind, Brandy Ho’s, as recommended by the computer as well as both tour books. The lunch crowd had long since cleared out, so we were grateful for a quiet restaurant, no wait, and quick service. The food was amazing – freshly woked right before our eyes in the open kitchen and within minutes of ordering. I had the General’s Chicken and Ryan had the Sweet and Sour Pork. I have to say, I was way more into mine, thankfully ; ) After lunch, we walked around some more, scouting out for some previously read about alleys with interesting shops. A tour down Ross Alley brought us to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Shop for some free samples and a tour down St. Louis got us a whole lot of flies and boring grated doors. We decided one alley was enough to get the idea and headed for a tea tasting.
The tea tasting was something Ryan was super excided about but about which, I have to admit, I was a little more skeptical. I had a feeling nothing in the city was free, but thought it would be a fun thing to have done, so jumped on board. We picked a place that Ryan had a good vibe from and strolled over. It was quiet, with one southern gentleman already saddled up to the tea bar. We picked a few teas to try, after some consideration, and saddled ourselves up to watch the process. To be honest, it was a little less exciting than I expected and the tea was much blander than I would have liked. After our second tea, we realized just how awkward it was now that we didn’t really like the tea AND we weren’t sure of the protocol. Do we pay for the tasting? Are we expected to buy tea? How do we cut and run without being guilted into some tea. I suddenly wished for some more patrons to take the heat off of us so that maybe we could just leave some money and head out. No such luck. Turns out, the tasting is only free if you buy some tea at $30 for 4 ounces. $6 later, we strolled into a Chinese bakery and got some treats: chocolate covered fortune cookies and a chocolate covered moonpie to celebrate the New Year. Unfortunately, I left them in the car, so we still have yet to nibble on them.
On our way back to the hotel to get ready to meet Bernie and Suz for our night out, we decided to take a tour of the trolley system with our free tickets. While waiting for the first one, who do we see roll up on the oncoming car? Bernie, Suz and their entire crew! We jumped
on, of course, and joined their ranks. In the hullabaloo, Ryan lost his free day trolley ticket and was sorely disappointed that not only had we lost out on our time to tour the trolleys but now he had also lost his means. We were glad to run into the group, though, and followed them on their treasure hunting journey. After a brief expedition in various modes of transport, we ended up at Buena Vista for some famous Irish coffees. They were quite stout, but now that I’m off of medications, this felt more than acceptable. We wandered around the pier area for a bit, taking in the sights, then headed over to Ghirardelli Square for the results of the scavenger hunt and some free wine and cheese. I helped solve the word jumbles while Ryan partook of the hors d’oerves. It was interesting to see all of these business men and women from around the world in their element, but after about a half hour, we were ready to go. With a good buzz on and dinner in our sights, we set back out, stopping only for some cupcakes at this famous little cupecakery called Kara’s Cupcakes to take home for dessert. 
I have to admit, I had other plans for dinner attire than what I had been wearing all day. I felt a little out of place wearing my jeans and shirt, but Bernie and Suz didn’t change either and insisted that “This is San Francisco, this is how you do it.” Alright then, I can’t argue with that. After a few cab trips and dinner decision dilemmas later, we ended up at Nob Hill Café, a small, quaint, but packed Italian restaurant. The cabby who drove us there was a riot, cursing and spitting at all the pedestrians and, ironically, drivers from Illinois that were in front of us. “Get out of my way and go back to fucking Chicago you ignorant…..” and on and on, to the point of hilarity. He felt a bit awkward when we explained the laughter was due to the three Midwesterners, 2 actually from Chicago, sitting in the cab with him. It’s kind of an interesting experience to make a cabby uncomfortable…
Dinner was amazing. We had to wait about 35 minutes, but we walked over to The Fairmont for a couple glasses of wine in order to pass the time. On our way up to the room, we were put in our place by a fellow elevator rider about the beauty of San Francisco. Suzie has a habit of talking up strangers in situations such as these, and after a conversation in which one of us mentioned that San Francisco was one of the most beautiful/fun cities in the world, she asked this passenger where he happened to be from. “Paris,” he spit over his shoulder at us, as if to say, “Stupid Americans and your inability to understand the beauty of cities outside of your silly little country.” Suz, not able to resist the awkward conversation, pursued the topic by asking about how long he was visiting San Fran. Again, practically spitting it over his shoulder he held out his hand and, with all five fingers extended, said in a thick Parisian accent, “5 days, 5 whole days.” We all chuckled and breathed a sigh of relief as he, with perfect timing, exited the elevator on his floor.
At any rate, the food at the restaurant was so delicious – Suz had some pesto gnocchi that literally just melted away right in your mouth. My penna ala vodka wasn’t too shabby either. After dinner and a few more bottles of wine, we accompanied Bernie and Suz back to their room for the aforementioned cupcakes. They were delicious as well, but after consuming them all and sharing a few more laughs, it was clear that everyone was exhausted, so we took our departure. Ryan and I headed back to the hotel, enjoying a nice evening stroll and the relief of pulling off our sneakers and crawling into an inviting bed. I tried to finish this entry at that time, but the draw of the pillows was too great. Day one in San Francisco, officially a success.
We met Suz for breakfast at 9:30 at Sears’, which was brilliant. Such a great breakfast spot and somewhere I definitely wanted to hit while we were in town. I emailed Katie for some other must see spots, but still have yet to hear from her. After breakfast, we hopped on our first Trolley up to Suz and Bernie’s hotel, The Fairmont. Suz bought us day passes, I think because she felt bad that she had led us to believe it was free before we decided to hop on. It was pretty neat to ride on the cable car – there wasn’t enough room to sit, so we even had to stand and hang on. We adjusted pretty quickly, especially since we were on the inside edge and almost clipped ourselves with a car on the other side of the yellow line. The Fairmont was impressive, but nothing unlike what I expected. Truthfully, The Biltmore in LA was more impressive aesthetically. It was still a neat place to see and apparently Bill Clinton was there only 12 hours or so before we came to inspect it. Bernie wasn’t around, but we were able to see their room which had a great view of the city.
Ryan and I came back to the room after we left Suz to her wine group. It was getting windier and greyer by the minute and I was definitely feeling the lack of sleep setting in. I couldn’t wait to lie down, read some Wicked, and maybe catch a few zzz’s before we proceeded with the rest of our day. We did just that. The TV was fixed while we were at breakfast, but we dozed off within a few minutes. It wasn’t even noon yet, so I didn’t feel bad about wasting away some of the dreariness in bed. We got up while it was still raining and decided to hit up Chinatown for lunch and sightseeing. We walked all the way down there – it was chilly and still spitting rain, but a nice walk nonetheless. The sights were incredible – so many different shops all crammed together in a tight little space. We had a destination for lunch in mind, Brandy Ho’s, as recommended by the computer as well as both tour books. The lunch crowd had long since cleared out, so we were grateful for a quiet restaurant, no wait, and quick service. The food was amazing – freshly woked right before our eyes in the open kitchen and within minutes of ordering. I had the General’s Chicken and Ryan had the Sweet and Sour Pork. I have to say, I was way more into mine, thankfully ; ) After lunch, we walked around some more, scouting out for some previously read about alleys with interesting shops. A tour down Ross Alley brought us to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Shop for some free samples and a tour down St. Louis got us a whole lot of flies and boring grated doors. We decided one alley was enough to get the idea and headed for a tea tasting.
The tea tasting was something Ryan was super excided about but about which, I have to admit, I was a little more skeptical. I had a feeling nothing in the city was free, but thought it would be a fun thing to have done, so jumped on board. We picked a place that Ryan had a good vibe from and strolled over. It was quiet, with one southern gentleman already saddled up to the tea bar. We picked a few teas to try, after some consideration, and saddled ourselves up to watch the process. To be honest, it was a little less exciting than I expected and the tea was much blander than I would have liked. After our second tea, we realized just how awkward it was now that we didn’t really like the tea AND we weren’t sure of the protocol. Do we pay for the tasting? Are we expected to buy tea? How do we cut and run without being guilted into some tea. I suddenly wished for some more patrons to take the heat off of us so that maybe we could just leave some money and head out. No such luck. Turns out, the tasting is only free if you buy some tea at $30 for 4 ounces. $6 later, we strolled into a Chinese bakery and got some treats: chocolate covered fortune cookies and a chocolate covered moonpie to celebrate the New Year. Unfortunately, I left them in the car, so we still have yet to nibble on them.
On our way back to the hotel to get ready to meet Bernie and Suz for our night out, we decided to take a tour of the trolley system with our free tickets. While waiting for the first one, who do we see roll up on the oncoming car? Bernie, Suz and their entire crew! We jumped
on, of course, and joined their ranks. In the hullabaloo, Ryan lost his free day trolley ticket and was sorely disappointed that not only had we lost out on our time to tour the trolleys but now he had also lost his means. We were glad to run into the group, though, and followed them on their treasure hunting journey. After a brief expedition in various modes of transport, we ended up at Buena Vista for some famous Irish coffees. They were quite stout, but now that I’m off of medications, this felt more than acceptable. We wandered around the pier area for a bit, taking in the sights, then headed over to Ghirardelli Square for the results of the scavenger hunt and some free wine and cheese. I helped solve the word jumbles while Ryan partook of the hors d’oerves. It was interesting to see all of these business men and women from around the world in their element, but after about a half hour, we were ready to go. With a good buzz on and dinner in our sights, we set back out, stopping only for some cupcakes at this famous little cupecakery called Kara’s Cupcakes to take home for dessert. 
I have to admit, I had other plans for dinner attire than what I had been wearing all day. I felt a little out of place wearing my jeans and shirt, but Bernie and Suz didn’t change either and insisted that “This is San Francisco, this is how you do it.” Alright then, I can’t argue with that. After a few cab trips and dinner decision dilemmas later, we ended up at Nob Hill Café, a small, quaint, but packed Italian restaurant. The cabby who drove us there was a riot, cursing and spitting at all the pedestrians and, ironically, drivers from Illinois that were in front of us. “Get out of my way and go back to fucking Chicago you ignorant…..” and on and on, to the point of hilarity. He felt a bit awkward when we explained the laughter was due to the three Midwesterners, 2 actually from Chicago, sitting in the cab with him. It’s kind of an interesting experience to make a cabby uncomfortable…
Dinner was amazing. We had to wait about 35 minutes, but we walked over to The Fairmont for a couple glasses of wine in order to pass the time. On our way up to the room, we were put in our place by a fellow elevator rider about the beauty of San Francisco. Suzie has a habit of talking up strangers in situations such as these, and after a conversation in which one of us mentioned that San Francisco was one of the most beautiful/fun cities in the world, she asked this passenger where he happened to be from. “Paris,” he spit over his shoulder at us, as if to say, “Stupid Americans and your inability to understand the beauty of cities outside of your silly little country.” Suz, not able to resist the awkward conversation, pursued the topic by asking about how long he was visiting San Fran. Again, practically spitting it over his shoulder he held out his hand and, with all five fingers extended, said in a thick Parisian accent, “5 days, 5 whole days.” We all chuckled and breathed a sigh of relief as he, with perfect timing, exited the elevator on his floor.
At any rate, the food at the restaurant was so delicious – Suz had some pesto gnocchi that literally just melted away right in your mouth. My penna ala vodka wasn’t too shabby either. After dinner and a few more bottles of wine, we accompanied Bernie and Suz back to their room for the aforementioned cupcakes. They were delicious as well, but after consuming them all and sharing a few more laughs, it was clear that everyone was exhausted, so we took our departure. Ryan and I headed back to the hotel, enjoying a nice evening stroll and the relief of pulling off our sneakers and crawling into an inviting bed. I tried to finish this entry at that time, but the draw of the pillows was too great. Day one in San Francisco, officially a success.
Lovin' it!
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